504 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



4 GEORGE V., A. 1914 



During the spring, the notice reprinted on the next page, was sent to all post 

 offices, and copies printed on cotton were posted in prominent places throughout the 

 infested territory in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. 



The following list indicates the distribution of the winter webs on various food 

 plants in Nova Scotia during the season 1911-12 : — 



Apple 6,842 Sweet cherry 5 



Plum '274 Apricot 3 



Thorn 241 Beech 3 



Pear 181 Willow 3 



Wild pear 68 Wild cherry 2 



Elm 32 Birch 1 



Maple 18 Rose 1 



Oak 16 5 



Quince 13 Total 7,703 



IMPORTATION OF PARASITES, ETC., OP THE BROWN-TAIL AND GIPSY MOTH. 



The arrangements forecasted in my last annual report for the establishment of 

 a field station in New Brunswick for the purpose of introducing and colonizing cer- 

 tain of the natural enemies of the Brown-tail and Gipsy Moths were completed, and 

 the University of New Brunswick not only most kindly allowed us the use of the site 

 for our laboratory in the university grounds at Fredericton, N.B., but also permitted 

 us to occupy one of their large laboratories during the summer vacation, which greatly 

 facilitated our work at a time when additional space for the breeding trays 'was 

 required. Dr. L. 0. Howard, Chief of the United States Bureau of Entomology 

 again most courteously permitted us to obtain supplies of the Tachinid parasite 

 Compsilura concinnata Meign, and the predaceous beetle Calosoma sycophanta. 



Mr. J. D. Tothill, who had charge of the parasite work in New Brunswick, 

 visited Massachusetts in July, 1912, and collected over 12,000 caterpillars of the 

 Gipsy Moth, from which 2,395 specimens of Compsilura were obtained. This lot of 

 material was used to establish two strong colonies of the insect, one near Fredericton 

 and the other near St. Stephen, N.B., both colonies being liberated under excellent 

 conditions. Subsequent examination of the puparia indicated that about seventy-five 

 per cent of the flies had successfully emerged. In the case of the Fredericton colony, 

 Mr. Tothill made an observation of considerable interest and value. Collections were 

 made later in the season of the caterpillars of the Fall Webworm (Hyphantria cunea) 

 and the larva? of the Tachinid Compsilura were obtained from caterpillars of H. 

 cunea, collected at a point three miles, as the crow flies, from the point where the 

 parasites were liberated, demonstrating that the female Tachinid in flying this dis- 

 tance had crossed the river St. John, three-quarters of a uiile wide. This discovery 

 would appear to augur well for the future dispersal of the species. 



Through the kindness of Mr. A. F. Burgess, in charge of the Gipsy Moth para- 

 site work in the New England States, a collection of eighty adult Calosoma beetles 

 was made in Massachusetts and sent to our laboratory at Fredericton. They were 

 received in excellent condition, and Mr. Tothill immediately commenced breeding 

 work, but was handicapped by the cold and wet sea?on which rendered the large 

 amount of food supply, consisting of living caterpillars, difficult to obtain. However, 

 Mr. Tothill was successful in rearing a sufficient number of Calosoma larva? to 

 enable an experiment to be made with a view to ascertaining whether the| pupal 

 stage of Calosoma is able to pass the winter under New Brunswick conditions. 

 Adults were also allowed to go into hibernation at Fredericton, and a small colony 

 of about fifteen pairs of adults was liberated at St. Stephen, N.B. If encouraging 

 results are obtained from these experiments during the coming spring, it is proposed 



